The present invention relates to the field of fabric finish compositions, more particularly the present invention relates to the field of compositions used on fabrics to provide a fabric with body or stiffness and a method of providing body or stiffness to a fabric. The composition may be used during ironing as a spray, in the rinse cycle of a washing machine, or in a laundry tub. It is well-known in the related art to use liquid starch containing compositions for application to individual textiles for wrinkle reduction and shape retention. It is also well-known in the related art to use compositions consisting of polyvinyl alcohols, starch or other polymers for the purpose of sizing textile materials. It is also common to use silicones in fabric finish products as lubricants to aid in ironing ease.
Generally, various limitations have been encountered in the related art in formulating a clothing or textile stiffening composition. One of the limitations of related art compositions is that the majority of these compositions, when dried, tend to leave a white, often crystalline, residue on the fabric which may flake off of the fabric either during ironing or at a later time. A further limitation is that the above-mentioned compositions of the relevant related art tend to discolor clothing and textiles due to the opaque white color of their residue when dried on fabrics. Further, due to its nature, starch-containing compositions may also turn yellow or brown when ironed due to excessive iron heat and scorching of the starch.
Relevant related art teaches a soil repellant coating composition comprising silica, polyvinyl alcohol and a wetting agent in an aqueous carrier medium. The anti-soil repellant composition can be applied to textiles, such as fabrics for clothes.
Other relevant related art discloses aqueous solutions of polyvinyl alcohol and silica, such as colloidal silica, which may be employed as coatings.
Another area of related art teaches textile sizing compositions comprising hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohol as well as art which discloses starch and polyvinyl alcohol compositions as textile sizes.
An additional area of related art teaches textile treating compositions comprising silicone emulsions.